The findings confirm Lori Klausutis died after falling and hitting her head on a
desk.

By JEFF AYRES, Daily News Staff Writer 9-1-2001

Saying he wants to "extinguish the fires of speculation" surrounding the death
of an aide to retiring U.S. Rep. Joe Scarborough, Associate State Medical
Examiner Dr. Michael Berkland released the autopsy report of Lori Klausutis on
Friday.

The 18-page report is in line with previous statements Berkland made concerning
how Klausutis, 28, died in Scarborough's Fort Walton Beach branch office
sometime during the evening on July 19.

Berkland said he hopes the details of the autopsy report will stop rampant
speculation on the Internet and elsewhere concerning Klausutis' death.

The report states that Klausutis' death was caused by her head striking the edge
of a desk in the office.

The fall that caused her to strike the desk was likely triggered by an
undiagnosed heart condition known as floppy mitral valve disease, which is
typically marked by abnormal heart rhythms. The affected valve divides the
heart's left-side chambers.

Klausutis suffered a hairline fracture of the skull, but Berkland has said the
fracture was consistent with a fall, not an assault.

The report also backed up Berkland's previous statements that Klausutis died
accidentally.

"There is no doubt that the head injury is a result of a fall rather than a blow
being delivered to the head by a moving object," Berkland wrote in the report.

To illustrate the statement, Berkland pointed out that Klausutis had bruising on
the left side of her brain, and some scratching and bruising on the right side
of her head.

"This finding is in marked distinction" from an "injury which results from a
moving object (example - a baseball bat) that strikes a stationary head," the
report states.

Had Klausutis been struck with a bat or other blunt object, her external and
internal injuries would have been on the same side of her head, Berkland
continued.

Berkland said that, to his knowledge, Klausutis never visited a doctor for
irregular heart patterns and had no long-term medical problems aside from
lingering injuries from an auto accident years ago.

The mitral valve condition is rare, occurring in only 5 percent of the
population, including young adults like Klausutis. But it can be fatal,
literally bringing the heart to a standstill in extreme cases.

The report mentions two people, including a postal worker, who stopped by
Scarborough's office the day before Klausutis was found. Both said Klausutis
told them she was "anxious and did not feel quite right," according to the
report.

Neither person was named in the report.

Klausutis' body was found shortly after 8 a.m. on July 20 by a couple who had an
appointment at Scarborough's office. She worked for Scarborough for two years.

Scarborough, a high-profile, popular Republican congressman, announced earlier
this year that he was retiring from his office to spend more time with his two
boys.